


Light Of A Lantern, Light Of My Life

by okoriwadsworth



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: F/M, John Diggle is the Green Lantern, Minor Hal Jordan, POV John Diggle, POV Oliver Queen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-08
Updated: 2020-05-08
Packaged: 2021-03-02 23:14:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,653
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24075013
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/okoriwadsworth/pseuds/okoriwadsworth
Summary: John Diggle gets inducted into a truly spectacular organization. With the power he gets, he helps his brother Oliver Queen heal from something truly terrible.
Relationships: Laurel Lance/Oliver Queen
Comments: 3
Kudos: 10





	Light Of A Lantern, Light Of My Life

Light of A Lantern, Light of My Life.

(Author’s Note: I always knew we were never going to get a John Diggle-as-Green Lantern story worthy of both the hero, and the man. But, lucky for fanfic, we have unlimited budgets. This takes place right after Eleven Fifty-Nine in Arrow, and after World’s Finest on Supergirl, and resets things in a way we should all be happy with.)

 ** _On the Planet Oa 10 years ago_** …..

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Hal Jordan was dying. He hated to have to say that out loud, but it was true. He had served the Green Lantern Corps with all of his will, and every ounce of his being, but it was time for him to lay down his ring and let someone else do his job. So, with the last of his strength, he boxed up the ring and sent it off through the universe to find someone worthy. He knew it would. And so, Hal Jordan’s work was done. He would be remembered as a hero, and a vanguard who carried the light of the Green Lanterns when no one else could. For him, that was good enough. And with his last breath, he smiled and said Thank You.

 ** _In Starling City 6 years ago_** ……..

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John Diggle was walking in the Emerald Park neighborhood of Starling City, not really thinking of anything but how angry he was at his brother Andy Diggle, when he heard an explosion come from up the block. Defaulting immediately to the training he had as a three-tour soldier in Afghanistan, the elite bodyguard swept the area for survivors and shrapnel. And that’s when he saw it. An ornate emerald-green box, not unlike the color of Oliver’s suit, that was glowing with a powerful light from the inside. Despite himself, almost as though it was a calling from inside his very soul, he opened the box and saw a glowing-green ring waiting for him. Almost immediately, he closed the box and headed home. This was not a decision to be made in the heat of the moment. This required thought.

Because the truth is that John Diggle was not a man usually given over to pride, or arrogance. He took pleasure in being the rock for his friends, the person who listened and provided sober counsel when everyone around him couldn’t think straight. And right now, more than anything, he needed sober counsel. He needed someone who had knowledge of this ring, and of the power he could feel it held, before he made a decision.

So, he called Barry Allen. Sweet merciful Christ, his head hurts when he thinks of how wildly different his life has become ever since Barry Allen sauntered his way into it. Meta-Humans, Magic, and whatever the fuck else awaits him is now just his new normal. But, and this freaked him out, the Flash didn’t have a clue what he was on about. He had heard rumors of it, but he needed to make a phone call. All Barry could tell him, the only thing, was that there had been talk of an intergalactic police force called the Green Lantern Corps. Supposedly, and Barry made it clear that this was just rumors and whispers, they were sworn to fight evil at all costs and were given that very same ring as an aid to help them do so.

So, while he waited to hear about this ring that had been given to him, John decided to his own research. He happened to be on a first-name basis with three-quarters of every law enforcement organization with initials in the known world, so he asked some typically vague questions about the Green Lantern Corps to see if what the Flash was saying was true. And every law enforcement officer he spoke to, whether they be US Marshals or members of the French counter-terrorism unit GIGN, all agreed on the same point: Whoever was called upon to be a Green Lantern ought to take the task on, because it is the best chance to serve the world one could think of.

Finally, the Flash sped over. And Barry Allen looked at John Diggle, as if appraising him in a way he never had before, and said simply: “Take the oath, John. The ring chose you.” Confident for the first time that this was the right thing, John Diggle sat down on his couch and opened up the box and placed the ring. He waited for what felt like a millisecond, and then all of a sudden the ring glowed green and he knew what to say almost immediately.

“ _In brightest day, in blackest night,_

_No evil shall escape my sight._

_Let those who worship evil's might_

_Beware my power--Green Lantern's light_.”

And as soon as the ring came on his hand, he felt the power coursing through his veins and the honorable responsibility that came with it. Almost as fast, then, he knew what he needed to do.

Of all the things, and people, he had lost since he became brothers with Oliver Queen, losing Laurel Lance was the one that hurt the most. She had become like the sister he had never had, but always wanted. He looked out for her, got her to a place where she could take care of herself when Felicity browbeat Oliver into leaving the city after that whole Ra’s Al Ghul business was done, and supported her in trying to get Oliver back in her life. And now, solely down to an accident, he could make things right.

And if he was being honest with himself, Ollie needed it too. Ever since she had died, the Green Arrow had died with her. He was the Hood again, that dark bringer of vengeance who murdered and tortured. That was never the best version of himself, never the person that he should have been. The best version of him was always the one who loved Laurel, and he was going to make sure Ollie got back to that. He was going to give them both the 2nd chance they deserved and had earned.

 ** _Meanwhile, at the gravestone of Laurel Lance 6 years ago_** …..

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Oliver Queen was a mess, and he wished no one saw him like this. Ever since Laurel had been murdered by Damien Darkh, he couldn’t think straight. His mind, his entire soul, was given over to a rage he had not yet known. A few drug dealers, and more Ghosts than he would have liked, found that the Green Arrow’s kindness and unwillingness to torture was taking a long holiday in the Cayman Islands. The Hood was back, and no one liked knowing that. Diggle had gone into a shell, and then had been off the grid for a bit as he tried to recover from knowing his blood brother had killed someone who was like a sister to him. Felicity had harangued him, and yelled at him to be better for her. Not to honor Laurel, who was the reason he was grieving. But instead, he was now expected to be better for someone’s selfish needs. That was not something he could abide.

So, at the beginning of every day, he sat here and he talked to Laurel with a care and love that he was unable to in life. They had too much past together, too many nights and moments that were just for them, for her to just be gone like this. She didn’t even get the full chance to become the hero she ought to have. He could see it in his mind’s eye more now than he wished. He saw her fighting alongside him, having finally gotten her combat skills up to match her spirit and will to do good for the people of Star City. It was a thrill to see her in her full flower like that, D.A. during the daytime and saving the city where the law left off once nighttime hit.

But it would never be, and it was all so fucking wrong. And at that exact moment, he found himself, and the gravestone, bathed in a bright green glow. But it wasn’t cold. It was warm, and comforting, and strong. Slowly, Oliver Queen turned his head and saw John Diggle standing next to him, looking regal and dignified like an officer in his dress whites. But, on the ring finger of his right hand, there was a glow coming from it. That was heady enough, but as he listened to John repeat an oath again and again, he saw something magical and wonderful.

Laurel Lance’s gravestone was cracking and her plot slowly opening. Soon, minute by minute, he could see her casket rising. Feeling all of his pain lift, he smiled when he saw the Black Canary step out of her coffin and walk towards Oliver and embrace him like a soldier returning from war.

“Laurel, you will always be the love of my life. Always. And as long as we have left with each other, I will spend the rest of my life proving it. Let’s go kick some ass, pretty bird.”

But before they did that, Laurel and Oliver both noticed that John Diggle was no longer in his usual Spartan gear. Instead, he was in a lime-green body suit with white gloves and had a green ring with a USB charging port at the end of it.

“It’s a long story, guys. I promise I’ll tell it to you. But I’m just so happy to have you guys back.”

And from this day, until now, the Green Lantern, the Green Arrow, and the Black Canary were inseparable. Sure, the battles got harder. But they were always there for each other. Like a family should be.

Because, while John Diggle got the light of a Lantern, Oliver Queen got the light of his life. No one could really complain about that.


End file.
